ATLANTA – It is never a good thing to get swept by the Braves, even though it’s only April and they aren’t the mental road blocks the Mets have struggled to conquer like they once were.
A 3-1 loss at Turner Field yesterday afternoon wasted a fine outing by Johan Santana and made the two-game weekend stay in Atlanta forgettable. But if you’re looking for the proverbial silver lining it would have to be Carlos Delgado.
A 2-for-4 outing yesterday has his batting average at .350 heading into tomorrow’s home opener at Shea, a good start that has to ease much of the concern the Mets had about their first baseman coming into this season.
Delgado admitted 2007 wasn’t a good year. He hit just .188 in April and saw his streak of at least 30 home runs for 10 straight years and at least 90 RBIs for 11 straight years come to an end when he batted .258 with 24 homers and 87 RBIs.
Spring training offered its own adversity when a splintered bat gashed him in the foreman, requiring five stitches, and his troublesome hip necessitated an MRI exam to make sure there was no serious damage. Delgado attributed his spring setbacks to “bad luck” more than being a 35-year-old player in his 14th major-league season.
“Physically, I feel good,” he said after collecting two singles yesterday, giving him six hits in his last 13 at-bats. “I’m ready to rock and roll.”
That fact he has just one extra base hit – a double – among his seven hits is more indicative of his approach during the early part of the season, when instead of swinging for the fences, he’s simply looking to make solid contact. Manager Willie Randolph calls it staying “small,” something he’d like all his hitters to do this time of year.
“When you start the season, I try to get my guys to stay small and not try to get too big, especially the big boys who are accustomed to hitting home runs,” Randolph said. “For guys like that it’s good just to start small and as you get more comfortable open up. It’s a good approach, but we have to get the big knocks, too.”
Therein lies the dilemma. How long will Delgado and Mets fans be patient with this brand of small ball, especially after losses like yesterday’s, where the Mets could have used a big blast to change momentum. The Mets have just two home runs thus far, while the opposition has belted six.
“That big hit is contagious,” David Wright said. “Once we get that big two-out RBI it will start a flow.”
The Mets will need the long ball from Delgado. That’s what he’s being paid for. But the plan is to stay small before he goes long.
“At the end of the day as a hitter you want to execute and you want to execute well,” Delgado said. “Whether it’s small, patient, staying behind the ball, using your hands, it’s all the same. All you want to do is get that feel that you’re in a hitting position before the ball gets there.”
The Mets as a team are still trying to find a grove. They left five runners in scoring position yesterday; Delgado was doubled off first after misreading a liner caught in center field; and the bullpen was horrid in Atlanta. But after enduring a difficult 2007, Delgado understands nothing will come easy in 2008.
“You have to work, you have to work, you have to work,” he said. “Whatever you’ve done in the past doesn’t mean anything. Once the season starts you have to go out and do whatever it takes to get the job done.”
Even if it means starting small before going long.